Will “Certified First Assistant (CFA)” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔
Unknown Chance of Automation
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Job Description
Assist surgeons during surgery by performing duties such as tissue retraction, insertion of tubes and intravenous lines, or closure of surgical wounds. Perform preoperative and postoperative duties to facilitate patient care.
Job Details
- The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 29-2099.07
☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Surgical Assistants”.
Also Known As…
- Surgical Assistants
- Surgical Technician (Surgical Tech)
- Surgical Scrub Technician (Surgical Scrub Tech)
- Surgical First Assistant
- Registered Nurse First Assistant (RNFA)
- Gastrointestinal Technician (GI Technician)
- Certified Surgical Technician
- Certified Surgical First Assistant (CSFA)
- Certified Surgical Assistant (CSA)
- Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant (CRNFA)
- Surgical Services Assistant
- Surgical Assistant-Certified (SA-C)
- Surgical Assistant
- Surgery Technician
- Operating Room Technician
- Operating Room Assistant
- First Assistant
- Certified First Assistant (CFA)
- Assistant-at-Surgery
Tasks for “Certified First Assistant (CFA)”
- Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.
- Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
- Assess skin integrity or other body conditions upon completion of the procedure to determine if damage has occurred from body positioning.
- Transport patients to operating room.
- Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
- Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.
- Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
- Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.
- Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies.
- Operate sterilizing devices.
- Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.
- Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
- Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood.
- Adjust and maintain operating room temperature, humidity, or lighting, according to surgeon's specifications.
- Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.
- Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
- Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature.
- Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.
- Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
- Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins.
- Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
- Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
- Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
- Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques.
- Discuss with surgeon the nature of the surgical procedure, including operative consent, methods of operative exposure, diagnostic or laboratory data, or patient-advanced directives or other needs.
- Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
- Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters.
Related Technology & Tools
- C-arm tables
- Telethermometers
- Surgical protective goggles
- Fluid warmers
- Heart pacemakers
- Desktop computers
- Personal computers
- Endoscopic camera/video systems
- Hospital intercom equipment
- Specimen collection containers
- Surgical clamps
- Pagers
- Urinary catheters
- Body stabilizers
- Wound drains
- Surgical trocars
- Patient positioning devices
- Eye magnets
- Medical image processing printers
- Surgical retractors
- Cardiac monitoring equipment
- Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Nd:YAG lasers
- Flash sterilizers
- Vascular clamps
- Surgical dermatomes
- Suction machines
- Pneumatic tourniquets
- Angiocaths
- Hypothermia units
- Patient transport stretchers
- Multi-line telephone systems
- Medical staple kits
- Intravenous IV sets
- Surgical robots
- Carbon dioxide CO2 lasers
- Surgical fracture tables
- Cell savers
- Surgical scalpels
- Surgical gloves
- Subcutaneous injection syringes
- Sterile drapes
- Argon beam coagulators
- Suture kits
- Powered surgical drills
- Blanket warmer cabinets
- Surgical razors
- Fiberoptic endoscopes
- Pressure steam autoclaves
- Cauterizing equipment
- Eye lasers
- Cast cutting saws
- Automated external defibrillators AED
- Laparoscopes
- Laptop computers
- Hemostat clamps
- Anesthesia carts
- Blood warming equipment
- Sterile gowns
- Nerve stimulators
- Head stabilizers
- Ethylene Oxide sterilizers
- Mayo stands
- Surgical masks
- Electronic medical record EMR software
- MEDITECH software
- Surgery workflow communication software
- Supply documentation software
- Patient tracking software
- Microsoft Excel
- Patient scheduling software
- Nursing documentation software